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F1: Kubica Exults in Runner-up Finish
Written by: Adam Cooper
RACER Magazine   http://www.racer.com/speedtv
03/24/2008 - 10:41 AM
Sepang, Malaysia
 
The champagne tasted especially sweet to the overheated Kubica. (LAT photo) ยป More Photos

Robert Kubica scored the second podium of his career when he finished a lonely runner-up at Sepang, well clear of the chasing Heikki Kovalainen, and unable to do anything about the Ferrari ahead. The only real excitement for him came at the first corner, when he managed to stay clear of a scramble that delayed Jarno Trulli and Nick Heidfeld.

“I didn’t have a good start,” said the Pole. “There was some wheelspin at the start which compromised my acceleration, so it was quite close with Trulli and Nick. I nearly lost the car on the braking into the first corner as I was inside on the dirty side but I think they touched, so I managed to overtake them. I was trying to keep a consistent pace.

“We know we cannot keep behind Ferrari, but I was trying to make up time as I thought McLaren would be a bit stronger. I saw after the second pit stop that Heikki was around 17 seconds behind me and didn’t close the gap. We did the last pit stop and then just pulled down the revs to keep the engine a bit fresh for the next grand prix, which is very important.

“For the heat, it was a tough race and I didn’t feel well all weekend. I was a bit sick -- especially as our new car is very hot inside.
The last 10 laps were pretty tough to keep concentration as 20 seconds in front was Kimi and 20 seconds behind was Heikki, so I was just cruising to the end.”

Kubica said his only problem was his drink supply.

“Our drink is already hot at the beginning of the race – extremely hot as in the cockpit we have massive temperatures, so I didn’t drink a lot as the drink was too hot. Next time I try to use hot tea inside the bottle.”

Kubica says the team still has to do a lot of work to catch Ferrari, even if it has shown that it can beat McLaren when the British team slips up.

“First of all I think we have to be happy with our pace already now because at the start of the season it did not look so well. It is very difficult to say where they are quicker. For sure on the top speed we are lacking a bit and it makes for tough racing because you have to push really hard in the corners knowing that in the straight you will be losing a bit of a gap.

“Especially on the long-distance [runs], it is not easy with tire degradation and with the new tarmac and the new asphalt here in Sepang we were lacking traction compared to last year, so we will have to work on this.”
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